Structural assessment of case study historical and modern buildings in the Florentine area based on a PSI-driven seismic and hydrogeological risk analysis

C-band medium-resolution Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) data from ERS-1/2, ENVISAT and RADARSAT-1 were used to establish a classification method preparatory to seismic and hydrogeological risk assessment of historical buildings in urban areas. Tests were conducted over the heritage city of Florence, Italy, using a multidisciplinary approach which takes into account geological and environmental factors of hazards, along with parameters related to conservation history of the monuments and the possible sources of damage commonly found within an urban context. The case study herein presented confirm the advantages of PSI against its well-known limitations, and demonstrate how PSI can be used to support subsequent structural analyses of buildings.